Unreads for 8/7

First place team gives up Peavy and Swisher and receives Sheets, Quentin, and Lidge.

To me Sheets and Peavy are a wash this season and first place team gets Quentin and Lidge basically for free. And if you look at it from keeper standpoint, Peavy and Quentin are a wash and first place team gets Sheets and Lidge for free. (no cap on keeper years) Am I way off or do I have a reason to be leery?

Jeff

Hey Jeff,

The trade favors the team which receives Sheets, Quentin and Lidge, but it doesn’t feel like the team giving up those three players is sabotaging this or next season. Peavy and Sheets aren’t necessarily a wash as Peavy has a much better ERA (2.59 vs. 3.14) and K/9 rate (9.0 vs. 7.6). Peavy also has a slightly better WHIP (1.11 vs. 1.19) and his eight wins nearly match Sheets’ 10 victories. But, yeah, they’re pretty close. Quentin is obviously the better hitter than Swisher. Perhaps the owner receiving Swish feels that his season-long struggles could amount to a hot August and September. Remember also that some fantasy owners feel Quentin could be a one-hit wonder this season, although I think he’ll be a 30-homer, 90-RBI guy for at least the next few years.

I’m not sure what to make of the Lidge throw-in. Maybe that was a way to sweeten the pot for an owner who was reluctant to trade in the first place. I wouldn’t count Lidge as a keeper, though. Papelbon and K-Rod are the only two closers who should even be considered as keepers. All in all, this is a trade that favors the Sheets/Quentin/Lidge side, but Peavy is arguably the most valuable keeper in this trade. I’d leave it alone. You want to pick your battles when it comes to vetoing trades, so I’d save your veto for a more one-sided deal.

Kyle Stack

Good Morning guys,

I am in a bit of a dilemma. I have Verlander and Liriano on my keeper league roster (14 team, 25 men, 7 keepers, 6×6 OB% and IP extras) and have been battling for a playoff spot, but now am out of it. Slim to none for chances. I am trying to build up my keepers. Do you think Verlander or Liriano would be a keeper in this format? How many pitchers should I protect? 0,1,2? Do you see any potential combos in my roster involving these guys to try and improve a position?

Let’s look at it this way. Berkman, Markakis, McCann, Granderson, and Cano (despite his extremely disappointing season) should definitely be kept. In a 14 team league, they’ll all easily be taken in the top seven rounds on draft day 2009. That leaves you with two spots to choose among the likes of Verlander, Liriano, Peralta, Gordon, and Broxton, assuming he’s anointed as the new full-time Dodgers’ closer. Broxton has the potential to be a dominant stopper. Since taking over for the injured Takashi Saito a few weeks ago, Broxton has gone 5 for 5 in save opportunities while posting a 1.59 ERA and 0.53 WHIP. If, for some reason, he returns to a setup role, I’d keep both Verlander and Liriano. Otherwise, go with Broxton and Verlander. The choice between Verlander and Liriano is an awfully tough one, but Verlander is simply the safer option. After a very rough start to the season, Verlander has, for the most part, pitched to his 2007 form, allowing two runs or less in 8 of his last 11 outings while striking out 69 batters over 62 1/3 innings. Liriano might have more upside, but we just don’t know yet how he’ll respond in the long term from missing about a year and a half of game action. If Liriano enjoys a strong final two months and goes through a setback-free offseason, I might change my mind. But if you ask me today who I’d rather have, it’s Verlander.

I don’t know what the guys think, but that top trade (Peavy and Swisher for Lidge, Sheets, and Quentin) just plain stinks if you ask me. Peavy is nice, but Swisher is practically worthless unless you get something for walks or OBP. For all of the injury worries, Sheets is having a nice season. Lidge is Lidge again, and Quentin is a breakout guy. I’d vote to veto in a second.

Speaking of Swisher- what is up with this guy? He used to be so good; don’t guys usually peak around age 27? He had a little hot streak where he finally got his average up a bit, but damn. It still looks like his best shot at batting his weight might be to take the rest of the season off and just go on Atkins.

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